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Stories/Chinese folklore/Tian Ji’s Horse Racing Strategy
HSK 4 Chinese reading practice

田忌赛马

tián jì sài mǎ

Tian Ji’s Horse Racing Strategy

After losing every race to the King of Qi, Tian Ji follows Sun Bin’s surprising plan and changes the order of his horses.

RECOMMENDEDHSK 4
READ4 min
HANZI204
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Why does Tian Ji lose the first race on purpose?

The story of 田忌赛马 is recorded in the Shiji biography of Sun Bin. By matching his weakest horse against the king’s strongest, Tian Ji accepts one loss but creates two favorable races. The story is now a familiar example of solving a problem by changing the order of limited resources.

Key vocabulary9 words from this story
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Check your understanding

Answer three questions without looking at the English translation.

01第一次比赛时，田忌的结果怎么样？
02第二次比赛的第一场，田忌用什么马对齐王的上等马？
03第二次比赛，田忌一共赢了几场？
0 / 3questions answered
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